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DFJ Mercury CERTIFIED

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FIRM OVERVIEW: Small Private VC founded in 2005 based out of Houston, USA (US Central)

FIRM DESCRIPTION: DFJ Mercury is a Texas-based seed and early-stage venture capital fund. We invest in companies that address large market opportunities in the information technology, life sciences, and cleantech sectors. DFJ Mercury is a partner in the global intelligence network of Draper Fisher Jurvetson funds.
DFJ Mercury seeks to partner with extraordinary entrepreneurs to build globally competitive businesses. Our team has a long track record of launching, growing and investing in early-stage companies. We believe that the most important ingredient in any start-up is the entrepreneur, and our philosophy is to help entrepreneurs build their businesses even from the very early stages.

Posted by
GreenKnight
on 2011-06-08

PUBLIC:

Because they are small and relatively focused on a couple of verticals, their capability to fund is somewhat limited. Still, they are very approachable and what other early stage funding possibilities are there in Houston??

Posted by
e4r5t
on 2010-03-22

PUBLIC:

I was the CEO of a company funded by DFJ Mercury and I worked directly with Blair Garrou on our board of directors. I highly recommend this firm and Blair. He took a risk early on with us and saw us through to a strong exit. At each step in our company development he assisted with valuable insights and support. He was always fair, he always asked tough, but appropriate questions, and he always was a team player with our success as his goal. I would work with these guys again in a flash. No hesitation.

Posted by
mschmulen
on 2009-04-10

PUBLIC:

Raising capital is not usually an enjoyable experience, especially when you deal with know-it-all VCs or those who string you along. In an industry full of pretension and ego, DFJ Mercury sets itself apart. My experience with DFJ Mercury has been uniquely pleasant. In particular, Blair Garrou has gone out of his way to offer his feedback and insight as we continue to grow our business and raise capital. We may not fit within their investment profile, however, Blair has given me an open door and has made several introductions to other investors on our behalf. In my experience, there are very few investors who are as approachable, visionary and supportive of entrepreneurs as Blair. Blair genuinely wants to see young companies succeed. Regardless of his investment decision, he will do whatever he can to help you out and make sure you are moving in the right direction.

The Funded.com has recently marked DFJ Merucry for "suspicious reviews." I have no doubt that many funds try to game the system. However, I am convinced that the flow of positive reviews for DFJ Mercury are sincere.

For the sectors that they invest in, the DFJ Mercury guys in Houston are the best VC’s to work with. I’ve worked with 30-40 venture capital firms over the years, and Blair Garrou and Dan Watkins are the best at rolling up their shirtsleeves and providing that “value add” you always hear about, but don’t often see from VC’s. I recently presented a project they might be interested in, and as opposed to saying yes, no, or “thanks but no thanks”, Garrou spent over two hours with me helping me refine the business strategy, giving me some new ideas, and introducing us to some excellent contacts that would help us get to market faster. For life sciences, material sciences, and in particular anything having to do with IT, social media, cellular phone apps, the Houston DFJ Mercury office is has more domain experiences than virtually any VC that I’m familiar with in the southern U.S. They are also very nice people – they do a lot with the community, etc. I highly recommend them.

We have been connected with Dan Watkins at DFJ Mercury for nearly three years now,. and they led our Series A round last year. Everyone we have worked with at DFJ Mercury has been fantastic - very easy to work with, good coaching skills, realistic without being pessimistic, and not afraid to ask lots of good questions. Dan has provided assistance throughout every step, including making numerous connections for us - most importantly, leading to our Series B funding. Their terms are fair without being overly generous in either direction. All in all, working with DFJ Mercury has been a rewarding, fruitful partnership thus far. It is definitely worth your time as an early-stage startup to talk with them, particularly if you are in Texas.

Posted by
Anonymous
on 2008-11-19

PUBLIC:

These guys helped close out the A round for my tech company. Blair has been great for me to work with. As the product developer, it is great to have someone dig into the product and not only understand it, but help in bringing it along. Terms were good.

Posted by
ositob
on 2008-09-12

PUBLIC:

Full disclosure: My company received funding from DFJ Mercury. Your experiences may differ.

I dealt more with Blair than any of the other partners, but I have met them all and like them all. They were quick to give us feedback, told us what they liked and what they didn't, and were professional and efficient during the negotiation of terms. They know their stuff, so you aren't going to get the deal of the century from them, but they were not "out to get us" like some firms out there. The deal we did with them was market reasonable, and both sides were satisfied with it. Also, their focus on early stage and small rounds makes them among a select number in Texas.

DFJ Mercury is invested in our company, and we've found them to be a good partner. Lots of positive energy and support; good willingness to try and help out in any way they can.

They fill a need in the VC arena for early stage capital. As a small fund they are limited in the number of deals they can do, but the flip side is that they have better latitude to fund earlier stage, smaller deals than the larger firms do. If you're looking for early stage capital I'd definitely recommend that you talk with them.

Posted by
MosaicCFO
on 2008-08-20

PUBLIC:

Great team of extremely bright guys trying to swim against the tide in Houston, Texas. Willing to look at all kinds of deals and honest with their feedback and assessment, but focused on biotech, green energy and IT. Won't drag you along if there is no interest. Very well connected and worth being on their radar.

Both Dan and Blair are nice guys and willing to make some introductions if your deal is outside of their respective focus (Dan-bio, Blair-Software) so it is worthwhile to pitch them especially if you are based in Houston.